Libya. Fighters belonging to a militia group associated with the Libyan army shelled the town of Bani Walid today, killing eleven people and wounding at least seventy-five more. The attack appears to be a response to the killing of Omar ben Shaaban, a former rebel from Misrata who allegedly had been kidnapped and tortured by men from Bani Walid. The militants, part of the Libya Shield militia from the Misrata area, claimed yesterday that they were acting under orders to advance into Bani Walid after Libya’s General National Congress authorized the defense and interior ministries to use “force if necessary” to find those responsible for Shaaban’s kidnapping. However, the army’s spokesman, Colonel Ali al-Sheikhi, denied giving such an order. Meanwhile, Libyan authorities have identified Ahmed Abu Khattala, the head of the Islamist group Ansar al-Shariah, as a leader of last month’s attack against the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Abu Khattala remains at large.

Egypt. Judges from Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court (SCC) on Tuesday criticized the Constituent Assembly, the body drafting Egypt’s constitution, for not ensuring the court’s independence from the executive branch. One article of the draft constitution would remove the court’s current authority to rule on the constitutionality of laws after they had been passed by parliament. Tahani el-Gibaly, a member of the SCC, said that “The revolution was about ensuring a democratic system, with balanced powers to protect the rights of the Egyptian citizen, but these clauses violate these rights.” The assembly is set to vote on the final draft in the second week of November, which will be followed by a public referendum. Meanwhile, Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi faced a political setback when his attempt to remove Prosecutor-General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud backfired. Last week, after the acquittal of twenty-four Mubarak regime figures, Morsi attempted to force Mahmoud to submit a letter of resignation and accept the post of ambassador to the Vatican. However, Mahmoud refused and a group of judges and lawyers criticized Morsi for trying to tamper with the judiciary. On Saturday Mahmoud returned to his job as prosecutor-general.

Israel. The first of one thousand U.S. troops arrived in Israel today to take part in a joint missile-defense drill with their Israeli counterparts. U.S. Air Force General Craig Franklin, who planned the drill, described it as the largest joint exercise in the two countries’ history. Craig also noted that the drill had been planned for over two years and said that it was a purely defensive drill, unrelated to any specific developments in the region. However General Nitzan Nuriel, his Israeli counterpart, said that “anyone who wants can get any message he wants from this exercise.”

Jordan. U.S. and Jordanian diplomatic sources told Al-Hayat on Monday that there is joint U.S.-Jordanian contingency planning underway to deal with the war in Syria. U.S. embassy spokesman Silvio Gonzalez said that “U.S. troops are regularly and routinely present on Jordanian territory to support are common goals.” Jordanian government spokesman Samih Maaytah said “all that exists is cooperation and the exchange of expertise.” More than one hundred U.S. troops were reportedly deployed to Jordan to provide aid in securing the border and in dealing with the flow of Syrian refugees. The two countries are also believed to be monitoring Syria’s chemical and biological weapons stocks.

Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the death of Muammar Qaddafi, the dictator who ruled Libya for more than forty-two years. On October 20, 2011, almost three months after the fall of Tripoli, rebels discovered Qaddafi hiding in a drainage pipe on the side of the road leading out of Sirte, his hometown. Qaddafi was still alive when apprehended but was killed within hours by a gun shot to the head.

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Middle East Matters explores the intersection of U.S. foreign policy and Middle East developments with special focus on Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine.